I enjoy writing, but...

[RavenRunes]

tell them to shut the fuck up? your free time is not their business?

Agree completely, I spent 20 years NOT doing any art because of the constant badgering to make money from it when I didn't want to - I didn't want to get tied into producing art on other people's briefs. Those people can really suck the enjoyment out of it.
DON'T LET THEM

 

[DarkeReises]

You can definitely make money on Scribble Hub, if that’s what you want to do. It is a free space with high traffic for advertising your works. You can monetize it with Patreon, PayPal, and such. So, if you want to make money writing web novels, then just do it. You can even open a room for donation just for fun. No losses here, only gains.

Though, most people on this site seems to write as a hobby. They do it for fun and just want to share it with their fellow degenera— ahem, like-minded individuals. So, if you want to write for free, then just do it. It is a hobby. Why cares about what people think about it?

Were you about to say degenerate? I prefer the term degenerado, cause I'm desperate too damn it.

 

[NotaNuffian]

If it is fine and fun for yourself, then Shia LaBeouf's Just Do It. It is your own free time, your own pace, just do what you like. Also, imho, you are not spending money and using your own free time, what do they want from you? Do their stuff?

Actually, this is probably what they are trying to do, to pressure you off of writing and then once you are free, you can do their shit.

Happened to me a fuck ton of time, spent some alone time and bam, "you are free? Do my shit!"

 

[Theirl]

Were you about to say degenerate? I prefer the term degenerado, cause I'm desperate too damn it.

degenerado? portuguese?

 

[T.K._Paradox]

My colleagues think it is stupid of me to write for free. They think it is easy to sell copies, even when it is not. I am tired of hearing their same old arguments. It is almost like money has taken over their lives entirely. It came to a point when I don't want to even talk to them. What argument can I use next time, which, by judging them, would be in five minutes, they begin to tell me to quit writing? I can't ignore them, we need to be a team. But they are getting on my nerves.

It has never been about money for me, I want to bring some enjoyment to people's lives. The same as my childhood authors did for me. Escapism isn't inherently bad, and with the wonder, it has brought to me I want to be able to provide for others.

 

[gaylolis]

can't relate since i don't really talk to people at all.

to me, writing is more about sharing my 'experience' with anyone who cares. if nobody does, it's okay. it's just some stuff i did on the side anyway.

though i still do so since it gives more insight for some reason, than keeping it to myself. even if no one reads it.

 

[Daitengu]

Pretty sure I'd call em out on it being easy. Cause I'd it was, why aren't they doin it?

 

[KiraMinoru]

My colleagues think it is stupid of me to write for free. They think it is easy to sell copies, even when it is not. I am tired of hearing their same old arguments. It is almost like money has taken over their lives entirely. It came to a point when I don't want to even talk to them. What argument can I use next time, which, by judging them, would be in five minutes, they begin to tell me to quit writing? I can't ignore them, we need to be a team. But they are getting on my nerves.

If you’re a writer and you’re asking other people what argument you can make, you’ve failed as a writer.

Instead of taking it all personal, getting all defensive, and shutting down, first listen to their points and acknowledge what they’re saying. They say selling copies is easy, but simply ask them, “Have you ever tried selling a story you’ve written before?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know it’s easy when you haven’t tried it before?”

If they say something like “People make tons of money selling eBooks on Amazon.”

“Do you know how many writers who publish to Amazon make sales?”

“No.”

“Barely any. Many authors don’t make a cent even after writing for years. To even make sales on Amazon you first need to rank in the algorithm so it gets discovered. To do so requires you to first have an audience. How do you plan to build an audience to make sales? Who will you sell to when you don’t have an audience?”

“Market it by purchasing ads.”

“Ads don’t work well for no-name amateur authors. Amateur authors will lose much more money than they pull in by purchasing ad space. Ads typically only end up working for big name authors.”

“Then market it for free through social media.”

“If you have a lot of followers already that might work, but if you don’t, you’re just wasting your time.”

“Then go to a publishing house.”

“You say that like anyone can get published. Getting published with a publisher means beating out a hundred thousand other people also trying to be published. Do you think it’s easy to beat out a hundred thousand other people? Doing so means you’ve got to write what you know is popular in the industry rather than what you enjoy or want to.”

“Then writing is just a waste of time.”

“Yes, it is a waste of time. Just like watching YouTube videos or Twitch streamers online. It’s a way to pass the time for most who do it.”

 

[doravg]

If you’re a writer and you’re asking other people what argument you can make, you’ve failed as a writer.

Instead of taking it all personal, getting all defensive, and shutting down, first listen to their points and acknowledge what they’re saying. They say selling copies is easy, but simply ask them, “Have you ever tried selling a story you’ve written before?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know it’s easy when you haven’t tried it before?”

If they say something like “People make tons of money selling eBooks on Amazon.”

“Do you know how many writers who publish to Amazon make sales?”

“No.”

“Barely any. Many authors don’t make a cent even after writing for years. To even make sales on Amazon you first need to rank in the algorithm so it gets discovered. To do so requires you to first have an audience. How do you plan to build an audience to make sales? Who will you sell to when you don’t have an audience?”

“Market it by purchasing ads.”

“Ads don’t work well for no-name amateur authors. Amateur authors will lose much more money than they pull in by purchasing ad space. Ads typically only end up working for big name authors.”

“Then market it for free through social media.”

“If you have a lot of followers already that might work, but if you don’t, you’re just wasting your time.”

“Then go to a publishing house.”

“You say that like anyone can get published. Getting published with a publisher means beating out a hundred thousand other people also trying to be published. Do you think it’s easy to beat out a hundred thousand other people? Doing so means you’ve got to write what you know is popular in the industry rather than what you enjoy or want to.”

“Then writing is just a waste of time.”

“Yes, it is a waste of time. Just like watching YouTube videos or Twitch streamers online. It’s a way to pass the time for most who do it.”

I have used all those arguments, in different words, bar the YouTube one, since I don't want to insult them.

 

[KiraMinoru]

I have used all those arguments, in different words, bar the YouTube one, since I don't want to insult them.

Tell them quit YouTube.

Also even if you’ve used these arguments, the words you use to represent those arguments are what matters. The process also matters. Are you listening to their points? Acknowledging them? What tone are you setting? How are you speaking? Confidently, or indecisively? Calmly, or irritatedly letting them know they’re getting under your skin? Do you look them straight in the eyes when speaking or do you look down at the ground or somewhere else? Do you keep your head up high and your back straight? Aside from spoken language, the unspoken language, body language, is just as important in an argument.

The best way to go about it is to just not care or take it too seriously. Just ask them to show you how it’s done.

You’ve also gotten it all mixed up, the burden of proof does not fall on the defendant, it falls on the prosecution. You don’t need to prove anything to them, they need to prove to you why you should quit.

Also, it isn’t an insult to say these things are a waste of time. It’s the truth. All forms of entertainment are mediums to waste and pass time.

 

[DarkeReises]

degenerado? portuguese?

Oh. I just mixed degenerate and desperado(which means a desperate or reckless person).
Clearly the Portuguese language is stealing from me. I'm going to file for copyright infringement.

 

[Jemini]

Personally, I have a Patreon. However, 100% of everything I've earned from my writing has gone back into my writing, whether it's commissioning cover art or buying adds to increase my visibility. That's all funded off my Patreon.

So, even though I'm earning money, it's still a zero-profit hobby for me due to the fact that my expenses equal my earnings.

Also, from this end, I can definitely say earning money from your writing is nowhere near as easy as a lot of people seem to think it is. You would need to build up a readership before even being able to sell your work. These people you're arguing with really don't seem to know how much work it takes just to get visibility. Even posting our work up for free as we do on this site, we're not getting anywhere close to the amount of visibility it would take to turn a profit off our work even if we were charging for 100% of it.

The very top stories on Scribble Hub would only just barely make the cut. Really, these people don't know what they're talking about.

So, there you have it from someone who's dipped a toe into the professional non-hobbiest side, at least in so much as to get what it takes to improve my craft. It's not easy, and your co-workers are idiots. You only ever hear about the people who make it in the writing business. You never hear about the ones who don't make anything.

The ones who don't earn anything are 90% of all the writers out there, and the people like me who earn just barely enough to dump it back into improving the craft are 9.9%. It is only 0.1% of all writers who are able to really earn good money off their writing.

 

[Anon2024]

For me personally it's not a waste of time because I use it as an outlet, however none of my colleagues know I post on scribblehub. I don't think anyone in real life knows I post here because I don't want them to know I post smut.

That said.

It's only a waste of time if you don't get fulfillment from it. As for the money thing... if you want to make money post on RR or just direct publish to Amazon. The type of stories that appeal to SH readers don't do as well on Amazon because it's a different demographic. People come to SH and other Webnovel sites for free stories, and so it's going to be hard to earn money through readership on here.

The Patreon/Subscribestar/Ko-fi route or whatever is about getting money from a few amount of people. You won't get supporters unless the readers like you as a person/author/writer because honestly it's a bad deal overall for those who pay a monthly fee when you can normally buy an entire book on Amazon for a few dollars and read it all the way through. Also a lot of readers won't buy your book on Amazon if they can read it for free, it's just how it is. I buy books to read on Amazon and iTunes, but I never feel compelled to buy books of stories I enjoyed on a web novel site unless I really like the author as a person as well.

I personally write on SH for ego and venting. Even if I say the ratings don't matter there is still a little part of me that dies when I get low star ratings but I guess it's a good thing because when (or if) I do decide to publish for money I'll have to be able to take low ratings from those who just don't like my book. As someone else said, posting in front of an audience is also a form of learning how to write and learning how to write is not a waste of time.

You could say, the time spent on SH is the tuition fee for the experience gained.

 

[RedHunter2296]

I think that it is also in favor that if they are work or study colleagues, they only dedicate themselves to that, because if, as you say with them, everything must be money, then there is not much that can be used for personal development

Now, once I won an argument with a friend. Once we were talking about an anime, he loved it, I hated it to death, the story was stupid and full of plot holes. He told me to stop being a bad person, because the author put his best effort into being creative and coming up with a story, no matter how bad it was, because not everyone does writing.I replied that for such a bad story anyone could write something better even with a crazier plot, he didn't believe me, I showed him my novel here on the site and he immediately accepted my point.

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

Violence. Get jacked and have the same argument in six months with your fists.

Or have them buy your works if they are so desperate to see you receive money for it.

 

[Deleted member 57675]

My colleagues think it is stupid of me to write for free. They think it is easy to sell copies, even when it is not. I am tired of hearing their same old arguments. It is almost like money has taken over their lives entirely. It came to a point when I don't want to even talk to them. What argument can I use next time, which, by judging them, would be in five minutes, they begin to tell me to quit writing? I can't ignore them, we need to be a team. But they are getting on my nerves.

I'm sorry but why tell colleagues then? If its in your own time, with your own equipment and not work related at all, why bring it up?

If they are the ones who keep bringing it up, just say you chill and relax during time off work. And lets focus on work instead of non-related work stuff.

As for the argument, I probably heard it in some way or form from older gen. Heck even i can feel will say it too. Maybe bc its having to think if things go wrong, what happens to food on the table. Maybe your colleagues are constantly worried with money problems. But hobbies are fun and in healthy amounts, it helps keep us sane. Each person's hobby is different. Is internet surfing paying them anything?

As long as you're able support yourself and your hobbies, do the work as needed, be capable of taking care of yourself, then should be fine.

 

[doravg]

I'm sorry but why tell colleagues then? If its in your own time, with your own equipment and not work related at all, why bring it up?

If they are the ones who keep bringing it up, just say you chill and relax during time off work. And lets focus on work instead of non-related work stuff.

As for the argument, I probably heard it in some way or form from older gen. Heck even i can feel will say it too. Maybe bc its having to think if things go wrong, what happens to food on the table. Maybe your colleagues are constantly worried with money problems. But hobbies are fun and in healthy amounts, it helps keep us sane. Each person's hobby is different. Is internet surfing paying them anything?

As long as you're able support yourself and your hobbies, do the work as needed, be capable of taking care of yourself, then should be fine.

It just came up one day. We were talking about what we did during the weekend and I blurted out that I wrote for my story. Back then, I was writing The Apple Grotto Nymph, so I even told them what I had up to that point. They told me my story was silly. Considering they read stories with rape and child abandonment or stuff like chakras, I took that as a praise.

 

[Deleted member 57675]

It just came up one day. We were talking about what we did during the weekend and I blurted out that I wrote for my story. Back then, I was writing The Apple Grotto Nymph, so I even told them what I had up to that point. They told me my story was silly. Considering they read stories with rape and child abandonment or stuff like chakras, I took that as a praise.

Wow...their taste...

But it was just brought up one day right? Shouldn't they have forgotten it by now? Are do they always come back to remind you about your story?
If they keep bugging about you to sell your books, ask them if they want to buy it. Otherwise who cares? They have their odd tastes, you have your hobbies...

 

[doravg]

Wow...their taste...

But it was just brought up one day right? Shouldn't they have forgotten it by now? Are do they always come back to remind you about your story?
If they keep bugging about you to sell your books, ask them if they want to buy it. Otherwise who cares? They have their odd tastes, you have your hobbies...

There is this story one of them read and wouldn't shut up about, that is about a woman who got a spell put on her (this is not in a fantasy setting) by a gypsie woman and her boyfriend dumped her just as she was pregnant. Then, going forward, again, because of the spell, she lost her second boyfriend (this one died), again, while pregnant. She started drinking and, finally, become a nun. Leaving her two daughters up for adoption. And that is one of the milder stories they read...

PS: Who believes in spells, even?

 

[Armored99]

Ok I got it, Next time they bring it up tell them you took their advice and now take commissions to write furry inflation fanfic stories.

Tell them about how lucrative it is. Really rub it in that they were right, but in the worst way possible.